Andrea Vullo is the community relations manager at GE Lighting, a job she's held since September 2008. Prior to that, she worked full time as an information technology project leader and then in a pricing role with the company. Vullo is also company liaison for the MC2STEM High School, a partnership GE Lighting has with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, and is a Cleveland-area GE volunteer council leader. Full story »

Brian Shoman is the tennis director at Peak Performance Center in Broadview Heights. He has worked there for three and a half years and has been in the tennis profession since his college days 15 years ago. Shoman graduated from Bowling Green State University with a sports management degree and holds certification from the United States Professional Tennis Association. He is also a Master Racquet Technician, certified through the U.S. Racquet Stringing Association. He wasn't exactly certain what he wanted to do with his degree, originally thinking he would pursue a position as an athletic director. Full story »

Karen Florjancic is in her fourth year as clinical coordinator at the Cleveland Clinic Sports Health Center. She has worked as a registered nurse in various positions in orthopaedics for 36 years. "I have done floor nursing, operating room, private practice and worked in an outpatient clinic. I was part of the medical team taking care of the Cleveland Indians during the 1990s. That was an exciting time, but a lot of work as well," Florjancic said. Full story »

Two years ago John Vespa started as material coordinator for the engineered polymers research and development division at Lubrizol Corporation. He previously managed the Cleveland branch warehouse and inventory for Ohio Business Machines, as well as various warehouse facilities for All Pro Freight. Full story »

Nancy White has worked within the field of career and/or employment-related support for more than 30 years. For the past 14 years, she has held the position of director of career services at Lakeland Community College in Kirtland. It was during her first position out of college as assistant director of a city recreation department where White honed her skills. As part of the team heading departmental leadership and sports programming, White learned how to develop, implement and organize programs and events. Full story »

Erika Swanson Hayes is an anesthesiologist assistant with Anesthesia Associates, PLL, practicing at TriPoint and Lake West hospitals for the past four years. This is Hayes' first job since graduating from college and finishing graduate school. Hayes graduated salutatorian from North Ridgeville High School and received the Beth K. Stocker/Manasseh Cutler Scholarship at Ohio University. She knew she wanted a career in healthcare, and fondly remembers biology as her favorite subject in school. Full story »

Emotion, more than anything else, spells the difference between stellar and mediocre team performance, stated author and team leadership expert Jackie Barretta in her book, "Primal Teams." "Trying to eliminate undesirable emotions is like trying to blow the spots off a leopard," Barretta advised. "Not only does the leopard keep its spots, but it gets so upset it may bite the hand that feeds it. The spots are primal, woven deep into the leopard's nature. The same goes for your team's emotions." Full story »

Raechl Walker is an art educator specializing in teaching healing and calming techniques using expressive art therapy. The therapy includes dance, music, painting, writing and most other forms of art. She also owns and operates an art institute called Dream Inc. that focuses on special needs students ranging from teens to older adults. "I started this company because of the love I have for teaching the arts. But after I had the opportunity to take art therapy classes at Tri-C West, it instantly hit me that I should merge the two loves together," said Walker. Full story »

In business as in life, a personal introduction can make all the difference in how one is received. A personal introduction can be the catalyst for a life-changing connection. Finding jobs, making hires, finding new business opportunities - all of this is much easier when done through a real, personal relationship. Nearly half of all job hunters obtain their jobs through referrals, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. And four in 10 job seekers found their "favorite or best" job through personal connections, based on the 2014 Jobvite Job Seeker national study. Full story »

Patrick Kander has worked in the food industry in some facet since his freshman year of high school and on the catering side since 2006. Today, Kander is chef and owner of Choice Catering, a company he started three and a half years ago. "I've always enjoyed cooking. It's been a passion of mine, and I never wanted to do anything else," Kander shared. "Being the youngest of seven, my mother learned to be an excellent cook. I always enjoyed standing by her side and lending a helping hand." Full story »

The best salespeople know that by creating and nurturing customer loyalty that underscores phenomenal long-term growth, they will develop high-return relationships. The process can apply across the board for anyone needing to build close personal connections with their clients, peers and potential employers to yield a return on their "investment." Full story »

Tim Fenimore started as director of operations for Synergy Woods, a venue for paintball and rope climbing activities, in November 2013. He has held supervisory roles for the past 10 years, but this is the first time working in the family entertainment business. "Since I was a child, I wanted to do something creative where I could make people happy," said Fenimore about his unique career. "I never thought much about what kind of career that would actually be. But when presented with an opportunity to watch people of all ages play paintball, climb on a ropes course or zipline, there isn't much of a decision to be made." Full story »

Many people start the New Year resolved to find a new job. If you are looking for a change in your career, you are not alone. Thirty percent of workers reported that they regularly search for job opportunities even though they are currently employed, with about half determined to land a new position this year. We’re already a month into 2015 – how is your career going? A national survey conducted at the end of 2014 on behalf of CareerBuilder by Harris Poll shows that half of workers feel like they just have a job, not a career, with nearly 40 percent feeling they are underemployed. Full story »

Carmen Fontana has been a national recruiting manager at Centric Consulting for one year. Now in her third year as a recruitment specialist, Fontana previously worked in the technology industry for nearly 15 years as a software developer and held positions in IT project management. “My career has shifted many times over the years, often in unexpected, but good, ways. I hadn’t considered other careers, but I also did not expect this career,” Fontana explained. “I loved the operational duties associated with being a project manager and particularly the talent management aspect. Hence, when an opportunity presented itself to solely focus on talent acquisition, I went for it.” Full story »

Pay and work conditions are important factors when it comes to obtaining top talent in the workplace. However, research shows that employee engagement is one of the key factors when it comes to retaining that top talent. Employee engagement is all about how you feel, how you are respected, how you are listened to and how you are an integral part of the day-to-day operation, said Dave Topor, custom research manager at ERC. Employee engagement doesn’t have a set definition. However, everyone agrees that companies must have that “it” factor. Full story »

Nicholas Mazzone returned to work for Card Palmer Sibbison & Co. as senior tax manager a year ago. He was a partner with the firm from 1977 until 2005, when he sold his interest to join another local firm. Mazzone is licensed as a certified public accountant in the state of Ohio. He decided to major in the field after taking a few accounting classes in college. Mazzone graduated from John Carroll University in 1973 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, with a concentration in accounting. Full story »

You don’t have to be a journalist or other professional writer to suffer from “writer’s block.” We’ve all experienced the dreaded feeling that comes from staring almost incomprehensively at a blinking cursor on a blank computer screen. No matter how hard you try, you simply can’t get the words to spill from your brain through your fingers poised above that keyboard. Creativity eludes and the frustration is mounting, making it hard to know where to begin. Full story »

For 15 years, Fred Martin has worked for Thermo Fisher Scientific as a national accounts director. Prior to that, he spent time in pharmaceutical sales with Abbot Laboratories and as a medical technologist at the Cleveland Clinic. Martin moved into managing customer accounts at the large biomedical company because he saw an opportunity to take his lab science background and use it to start a career in the healthcare industry. It was a natural career progression based on his interactions with those working on the industry side of the biomed world when they called on the Cleveland Clinic lab over the years. Full story »

Emotional intelligence is defined by how we perceive and understand our own emotions and the emotions of others. Studies indicate that one’s emotional intelligence is the difference between a stellar performer in the workplace versus “just average.” Emotional intelligence is a key factor in leadership development and the level to which individuals attain success in their life and career. “As individuals, our success and the success of the profession today depend on our ability to read other people’s signals and react appropriately to them,” said Hugh Littleton, senior training specialist at Cuyahoga Community College. “Each of us must develop the mature emotional intelligence skills required to better understand, empathize and negotiate with other people – particularly as the economy has become more global. Otherwise, success will elude us in our lives and careers.” Full story »

Logistics is a critical component within the transportation industry that includes moving freight via air, land and water. In 2001, Kimberly Martinez-Giering started working in sales for AIT Worldwide Logistics. Today she is the president and chief executive officer of KLN Logistics Corp. located in Middleburg Hts. Full story »

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